In the building industry there is a trend towards increasing competitiveness through investment in capital-intensive technology. However, this approach prevents the intended beneficiaries of housing policies to contribute their own abilities to the construction of their homes. Furthermore, the building industry faces economic and environmental issues such as waste, sustainability, energy, and the problems of small construction firms. Concerning the latter, a recent survey of small construction firms by the Feceration of Master Builders found that two-thirds of smaller firms had to turn down new business due to shortages in skilled workers, especially bricklayers, carpenters/joiners and plasterers. The issues call for the use of technology and automation in not only the manufacture of building material but also its transport and offsite/onsite assembly in a manner that maintains the option of labour participation by a semiskilled or unskilled workforce. In summary, there is a lack of environmentally responsible building materials that in their assembly use advanced technology that is inclusive.